[beerglass007]

Currently in a 330D and whilst is great its my 3rd BMW 3 series with 330D lump

Like the idea of a 340 then saw a 140 pull away from the lights and was stunned

A shadow edition is crazy cheap currently £23K

Not driven a 1 series before and not really been into them, but what's it like coming from a 3 series

Am I mad

[goodbyalfa]

Originally Posted by beerglass007

Currently in a 330D and whilst is great its my 3rd BMW 3 series with 330D lump

Like the idea of a 340 then saw a 140 pull away from the lights and was stunned

A shadow edition is crazy cheap currently £23K

Not driven a 1 series before and not really been into them, but what's it like coming from a 3 series

Am I mad

Baby bmw.... I'm sure it's a hoot to drive but the shape is not my bag. Each to their own and all that. If you like the look, get yourself a test drive

[335dX]

My 335dx is in for service and other things for 3 days and they’ve given me a 1er. It’s much smaller, almost claustrophobic, I really cannot get comfortable in the seat or seating position and I can’t rest my arm on the door like I can in my 3er. It’s definitely not for me, but you might like it so you have to try it...

[djcowlin]

I went from an F31 340i to a Shadow Edition M140i. I ticked a lot of the options to make it as much like my 340i as possible (though no HUD available!), so it was a little more than £23K, but decent discounts are easily available. The drive is much more nimble, as you'd expect from a smaller car, but the engine is the same!

Looks are a bit marmite, but they've had at least 2 LCIs to improve on the original styling.

I'd suggest you test-drive one, but do it soon as production will be stopping over the summer.

[SkyJawa]

I got rid of mine for other reasons but found mine was very cramped, I was glad to go back to a 3 series and so was the rest of the family.

Cracking car tho!

[Russbmw]

Good fun to drive, but the ride is very unforgiving on sports suspension. Don't get me wrong, I love a car that handles well, but I personally find it a bit tiresome after a while, being jiggled down every road because I can feel every bump and undulation in the road.

[MashinBenzin]

OP mentioned pulling away from the lights...

When I had my 440i, I was alongside a 140i at lights leading into a curve. Had my daughter on board so I was getting away gently. I was quite surprised by how badly the 140i skipped and hopped as he moved off not particularly quickly- seemed far more traction limited than my 440i on a piece of road that I know well.

Other than that, any excuse to get a B58 in a small 1/2/3/4 series car is one worth making.

[cc3]

Get one of these fantastic cars

[Skwirrel]

We have both a 330d and M140 on the drive.

The 1 series is a smaller car so no surprise it is slightly cramped in comparison. Feels about 10-15% smaller, however, the general feel between the two is very similar. The smaller car benefits from being a bit more nimble and agile and turns in a lot quicker.

The 140 on adaptive suspension is a good chunk comfier than the 330d on passive m sport suspension.

Engine wise the 140 is still bring run in but very quick despite light throttle, it is very refined and smooth and sounds mega. Pulling away from 30 and 40 mph it tends to drop a gear where the 330 would hold the higher hear and use the superior torque.

It has made me appreciate how good the 330d engine is in comparison to the average diesel but it would be rinsed by the 140 at higher revs and accelerating through the gears.

Both great cars with many similarities, but the different engines alters the character of each one. The 140 is more overtly sporty and the 330d more sensible day to day but each one is better at the opposite attributes than you would expect.

Not sure if that helps but try a drive in one to see if it meets your needs.

[TodmordenLad]

test drive one, absolutely essential
I fancied one, had an extended test drive and ended up in a 440i - also coming from a 330d

I do a lot of long journeys, UK and mainland Europe. The 440i GC is a nice GT car imo, the 140i really isn't

[ByTheSea]

I had 2 x 1 Series, both with the Sport engine and suspension. That is 1.6L, 180BHP and standard suspension. The biggest negative for me was the raw, jittery suspension on every road other than the smoothest. My 3 Series rides better on MSport than the 1 on standard. So check out any 1er on a variety of roads and ideally check out adaptive.

[PeteN]

Originally Posted by djcowlin

I went from an F31 340i to a Shadow Edition M140i. I ticked a lot of the options to make it as much like my 340i as possible (though no HUD available!), so it was a little more than £23K, but decent discounts are easily available. The drive is much more nimble, as you'd expect from a smaller car, but the engine is the same!

Looks are a bit marmite, but they've had at least 2 LCIs to improve on the original styling.

I'd suggest you test-drive one, but do it soon as production will be stopping over the summer.

Can anyone PM me where they got such good deals on a 140i. I did a Carwow quote and the best I got was 30k on a Shadow Edition, that was on PCP

[Gaz330d]

I currently have a M140i Shadow Edition on 68-plate. Came from a F30 330d after 3-years and fancied another one. But the VED of the new 330d was £500/year and I was only paying £130 at the time. So I went with the M140i instead due to the running costs and performance :-)
The 330d for me was a great all rounder for me. But the M140i is a different beast and I had a M135i before the 330d. So I knew what I was expecting with the M140i.
Performance wise. The M140i will leave 330d for dust over silly speeds and it gets to these speeds very quickly.
The only thing I miss from the 330d was the space and the fuel consumption.

[Skwirrel]

Production finished in June along with the £4k Q2 finance contribution on top of any discount on offer. Circa £10k off was easily available.

We paid £28.5k for a five door with a few options and picked it up last week. Your best bet is to find a pre registered car so technically you're the second owner. There were one or two pre reg with the wrong spec we looked at with comparable pricing to a factory order. Bank loan to pay off the PCP so finance rates were irrelevant in the calculations.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by cc3

Get one of these fantastic cars

Bloody hell, TRL is teaming up with Yianni now, he's getting a bit big time!

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

test drive one, absolutely essential

+1

We had one for an extended 24 hour demo as a potential replacement for Mrs JNW1's car and neither of us really liked it. A great engine but the rest of the package was decidedly average IMO; however, others clearly like it so the answer's to drive one and see for yourself!

[johnnybforbacon]

Test drove an M140 about 6 months ago as I was tempted to get one. They are seriously good fun, easy to control if the back end slides slightly and make a great sound. Bit too cramped for me though and as I go on a lot of weekends away to the country side ideally I need the 340i touring so just waiting until the right one comes along.

Have a test drive, no doubt you'll love it.

[NISFAN]

I own a 330d and 240i. Different animals altogether.
If getting the 140 you need to add in aftermarket suspension, it's too quick a car to have that rubbish BMW fit to it.
Fun factor wise it's right up there with an M car with some choice modifications.

A performance bargain.

But, yes more compact than a 3 series. I don't find it cramped in the drivers seat (2 door frameless glass helps), but back seats and boot is a little smaller.

[JustChris]

It will feel quite old quite soon I think. One of the very last F series type interiors. If that's no bother over 4 years, boom what a bargain.

[Pizzaeatingking]

In a nutshell, 1 series feels a little more like a hot hatch, bit more twitchy, bit more lively. Inside feels very small in comparison to the 3er.

3 series feels a little more grown up, more space inside. Slightly slower standard but with the MPPSK fitted it's a match for the 140i and sounds far better.

Horses for courses, same engine and box but different cars to drive.

[Vasumir]

Originally Posted by teaston

Bloody hell, TRL is teaming up with Yianni now, he's getting a bit big time!

At least they wrapped them in a nice colour. Unlike that horrendous chrome green colour Yianni had his lambos in.

[Beancounter_74]

You'll be lucky to find one now as production has all but stopped. There may still be the odd one about as said above, but you'll need to move quickly.

I went from a 335dx Touring to an M140i back in March and love it. Other half liked it so much we now have another one which we picked up last week.

Yes, they are smaller and definitely feel a bit smaller on the inside (mainly the rear) than the 3, but to be honest for the type of miles we do currently they work well for us.

There's a few annoying options that you can't get but I would have liked (electric boot and Adaptive cruise) but I've enough other things to keep my mind off that......oh and that engine